Tuesday, June 09, 2009

In the intervening time since my last post, Nova Roma has had its usual fair share of issues. It would be redundant to recount these for while the specifics might differ slightly from earlier ones recorded here, they are essentially still the same as always.

The issues of corporate compliance, maintenance of public order in the forum, elections and their validity or otherwise, our legal system and trials, and the host of other contentious matters are important but they are only symptoms of a deeper failure. This failure is not that of individuals, but rather a failure of structure, incentive and purpose.

The structure of Nova Roma needs attention, to solve once and for all the divisive and relatively curable problem of the needs of the non-profit corporation, and its attendant US state regulations that govern it, consistently clashing with the needs of a Roman republic. This can be done.

We need to provide an incentive to become fully engaged in value driven projects generated continually and across the whole spectrum of the community, that are linked to achieving long-term goals. This can be done.

Lastly, we need to redefine our ultimate purpose to take account of changed factors since Nova Roma was founded, for we need a clear sense of direction in pursuit of clearly formulated goals, along with target dates for achieving them. This can be done.

Of course issues will arise, they always will do, but it is time for a change of focus on all sides. That has been said many times in Nova Roma, but these three matters must become the sole and detailed focus of analysis and problem solving. In order to do that all divisions have to be put aside for this greater purpose.

It would be the height of idealistic folly to think that Nova Roma could suddenly coalesce smoothly around a process of problem solving for the benefit of us all, for those divisions run deep. What should be possible is to file those divisions and grievances away in the pending drawer and turn instead to deal with these three areas.

If that can be achieved and we deal with these three problems in a non-judgmental and productive manner I believe that over time we will discover that we can make progress and resolve them, and that the long-term effect of that maybe to ensure that we are far too busy to remove that folder from the drawer. Eventually those grievances will fade into irrelevance compared to what we have managed to create.

The current situation can no longer be considered tenable by anyone in Nova Roma, regardless of what their ‘political” stance is. If we do not focus our united efforts on these three areas Nova Roma will decline into complete irrelevance.